Transcript Georgia and the American Experience

Georgia
and the American Experience
Chapter 15:
Government of the
Empire State
Part 2
Study Presentation
©2005 Clairmont Press
Georgia
and the American Experience
Section 2: The Legislative
Branch of State
Government
©2005 Clairmont Press
Section 2: The
Legislative Branch of
State Government
• ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
–What does the legislative branch
of government do in Georgia?
Section 2: The Legislative
Branch of State
Government
• What words do I need to know?
– public regulation
Legislative Branch
• law-making body in Georgia
• officially known as Georgia General
Assembly
• bicameral (two-houses): House of
Representatives and Senate
• only House can write spending bills; Senate
confirms appointments made by the
governor
Members of the General
Assembly
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180 members
elected by popular vote
no limit on number of consecutive terms
members’ districts have about the same
number of voters
Qualifications
–
–
–
–
citizen of US and Georgia at least 2 years
legal resident of district at least 1 year
Senators: at least 25 years old
Representatives: at least 21 years old
Legislative Sessions
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40-day session, January – March
members of house of representatives elect
Speaker of the House
lieutenant governor presides over senate but
has no vote
Speaker can vote if there is a tie
Committees
• organized like Congress in committees and subcommittees
• bills may start in House or Senate
• standing committees: permanent part of the General
Assembly
• interim committee: works on assigned special tasks
• conference committee: works out agreements between
House and Senate on bills
• joint committee: has members of House and Senate to
work on assigned topic or issue
• members serve on several committees
Types of Legislation
• can pass laws, amend (change) them, or do
away with them
• some law topics:
– taxes
– education
– property
– criminal matters and punishments
– public health
– regulation of businesses & professions
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• any senator or representative can
propose a bill
• bills related to spending must begin in
the House
• same version of the bill must pass House
and Senate
• compromise bill may come from
conference committee
• governor can sign or veto the bill if it
passes both the House and Senate
Reapportionment
• Occurs each 10 years following the
census
• legislature must redraw the voting
districts to make them have the equal
numbers of people
• 2001: districts drawn by Democratic
legislature ruled unconstitutional
• 2004: revisions made to district map
• gerrymandering: drawing up an election
district to support a particular group
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